Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) microarray technology is used in many research areas such as gene expression and discovery, mutation detection, allelic and evolutionary sequence comparison, genome mapping, and the like. Microarrays allow researchers to perform a large number of concurrent experiments using, for example, multiple probes and a single test sample. In typical microarrays, the microarray area is surrounded by a barrier such that the test sample may be placed in contact with the microarray but restricted from flowing out of the defined microarray area.
Multiplexed microarrays are formed from multiple microarrays positioned on a single substrate. In a multiplexed microarray, a barrier may be used to surround each individual microarray such that a plurality of samples may be used with a single multiplexed microarray. The barrier retains the sample within the desired sub-array while restricting the sample from flowing or otherwise contacting adjacent or nearby sub-arrays of the multiplexed microarray.
In some typical implementations, a pipette machine is utilized to deposit the samples to each sub-array of the multiplexed microarray. To facilitate proper application of the sample, each sub-array must be arranged in a predefined location usable by the pipette machine. However, depending on the type of microarray (e.g., synthesized arrays), the locations at which the microarrays may be formed on the substrate may not be directly compatible with the pipette machines thereby limiting the number of useful microarrays.